February 23, 2015

Making up…

I did something yesterday that was pretty fun! I took a makeup class at Sephora called Flawless Foundation. There was no cost to me, other than getting up early on a Sunday morning in order to be there ready to go a few minutes before 10am. Always afraid of being late, I gave myself plenty of extra time and ended up getting to the mall about 30 minutes early. Which was actually rather cool. The main doors were open, just not the individual stores so I was able to walk around without worrying about being bumped or jostled. The Florida Mall tends to get very crowded and the tourists who shop there like to walk around in mobs, completely indifferent to everyone else. Which is one of the main reasons Tom doesn't usually accompany me on my shopping trips.

After a look around, I was loitering in front of the store when a few other women arrived who were also taking the class. It was nice to have a chance to meet one another and chat for a few minutes. Then the door opened and we were ushered inside. The class was listed as full and they had makeup stations set up for 10 people but only five showed up. That actually gave those of us attending more focus and attention. In addition to the instructor, there were four more Sephora employees assisting.

So obviously, the topic was applying foundation flawlessly. Which starts with a good base and surface. First, we were matched up with an appropriate moisturizer for our skin types and needs. Next was primer. There are so many primers out there it's crazy! So glad they culled down the choices and explained the difference in the various types. After we had all applied our primers (Smashbox original) the instructor demonstrated applying foundation, concealer and setting powder on one of the other girls.

Now it was our turn. We were color matched using the Color IQ service. A special "camera" is used to take tiny photos in several different areas of the face. Then a color code is produced, entered into the system and the result is a list of foundations and the color of that brand and formula that should be a match. Of course, nothing is perfect and I apparently have tricky skin. It took my assistant quite a few tries before she found one she liked for me.

Oh - in addition to learning about the different primers and foundations, we were also schooled on the different ways to apply them, including fingers, sponges and brushes. By far, brushes were the favorite. But even brushes have special uses depending on their density, size and shape.

We were all provided a full set of lovely pro brushes, then were set loose to apply our own foundation. I'm no expert, but do feel that I can put on basic makeup with some basic skill, but suddenly I felt as if I had two left hands. Just completely awkward, nervous that I looked like I had never put on face makeup before. It didn't help that my mirror was to my left. At home I tend to use the mirror on my medicine cabinet, which is on my right side. In the end, I guess I did okay and I did find that the color was a really good match for my skin.

The class ended at 11:30 so we had a half hour to ourselves before the store officially opened. I was there for a good bit longer as I always have a list of things to check out that I have discovered through the Sephora emails or Makeup and Beauty Blog, which I follow (and highly recommend to other beauty junkies like myself).

There is always more to learn and I am signed up to take the Contouring and Highlighting class in two weeks. I'm looking forward to it. I had a beauty consultation about six months ago and one of the things I asked to learn about was contouring and highlighting. It is amazing the difference doing it skillfully can make. And while I tried to pay attention and remember, there was just so much going on that day and now I've pretty much forgotten everything. So focusing on one skill at a time should be better for me.